Nate
NATE
Instead of the expected gentle, pleasant wake-up, found himself jolted awake. Someone stood beside the bed, and felt his heart leap into his throat. His mouth opened, and a hand slapped over it, none too gently.
It was then he recognized Clay, using his other hand to put a finger to his lips. blinked at him before slowly nodding and glancing at Tyler, who was picking himself up slowly, watching Clay carefully.
“Clay?” Tyler asked softly.
Clay glanced toward the door. “We have visitors. Two men coming to the front door. I expect I know what they’re here for. But I figured it was best if you two could also hear it. Get dressed, but don’t come downstairs.”
Tyler nodded, getting out of bed. Clay watched them momentarily before turning and walking out of the room. Once again, was struck by just how little noise Clay made. He hadn’t even realized the man was in the room until he’d purposefully woken them up.
“God,” whispered. “Is it them again?”
Tyler pulled his pants on, shaking his head. “I don’t know. It might be, especially if Clay is this suspicious.”
When they were dressed, they walked into the hallway and heard the front door open. Tyler held up a finger to signal quiet as they reached the top of the stairs and listened to the conversation below.
“Can I help you?” Elliot asked.
“Evening, sir. Sorry to intrude this late, but we’re looking for a person of interest,” came a familiar voice.
“Gruff Man,” Tyler grunted quietly.
“Really? It’s two in the morning. You think now is the time to start knocking on my door?” Elliot asked, sounding irritated.
“Well, this person has caused a great deal of trouble, and we’re desperately searching for them. We received information that they might be here,” Gruff Man told him.
Elliot scoffed. “That so? Unless you’re looking for me or my partner, I don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for here.”
“Please, sir. This is a matter for the federal government.”
“Is that so? I guess I’m going to need to see some ID then.”
glanced at Tyler. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Elliot sound so...grumpy.”
Tyler smiled. “Don’t forget, the man used to be a badass Marine. And from what I can tell, he hasn’t let go of the badassness. He’s just...happier most of the time.”
“Thank God for that. He sounds angry,” muttered.
“You should see him when we get those door-to-door people who are just scamming everyone. Elliot practically gives them PTSD before they leave,” Tyler said.
Gruff Man spoke again. “Is that good enough for you, sir?”
“That it is,” Elliot told him. “Though unless you have a warrant, FBI Agent or not, you aren’t getting in my house if that’s what you’re after.”
“We only want to do a brief search to find out if the man we’re looking for is here,” Gruff Man said.
“Good for you. And I wish you luck in finding him. But I know who’s in my house, and there’s no one here you need. So unless you have a warrant, get off my property. If you want to come back with a warrant, hopefully not at some God-awful hour, then by all means, come back,” Elliot told him.
“I regret that you’re unwilling to cooperate,” Gruff Man said.
“It would be in your best interest to cooperate,” a new voice added.
“Jesus. And there’s Mustache. Hasn’t he taken enough of a beating?” Tyler grumbled.
eyed him. “What exactly did you do?”
“Broke his nose.”
“Again?”
“Pretty sure.”
knew it wasn’t the time, but he said, “If we don’t end up in another life-or-death situation, allow me to demonstrate just how arousing it is that you’re willing to break a man’s nose on my behalf.”
Tyler eyed him. “Promise?”
Clay appeared beside them. “I think we had enough of that earlier, thank you.”
Even Tyler jerked, biting down on his yelp of surprise. “What the hell, Clay?”
Clay stared at him. “Do you really think we couldn’t hear the two of you? After so many years complaining about being traumatized by Elliot and I, you just had to get your revenge, didn’t you?”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “I promise you, it wasn’t on purpose.”
felt his face grow warm. “You could hear us?”
Clay snorted. “As thick as these walls might be, they aren’t enough to block out Tyler’s grunting or your power-bottom cries.”
“Oh my God,” muttered, burying his face in his hands.
“What is wrong with you?” Tyler hissed.
Clay smirked. “Many things. We have a few men skulking around the backyard. I thought you should know.”
’s embarrassment melted, giving way to a cold wash of fear. “What are they doing?”
Clay started down the stairs. “I suspect they’re waiting until we think they’re gone before coming into the house. They appear to be armed and probably know Elliot’s background.”
Elliot appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “And probably hoping their numbers give them an advantage.”
“And they don’t know about me,” Clay added.
Elliot winked. “And they don’t know about Clay.”
“Or me,” Tyler threw in.
“Like hell,” choked out.
“I’m inclined to agree with Nathan,” Clay said.
“Uh,” Tyler said, looking between them. “There’s no way in hell I’m standing on the sidelines while you guys deal with some assholes breaking into our house.”
Elliot winced. “Someone needs to keep an eye on . Clay and I stand the best chance of keeping them at bay.”
“And then some,” Clay muttered.
Elliot ignored him. “But isn’t exactly fit for a fight. You might have some training, Tyler, but he doesn’t. We have the training and the experience.”
watched Clay, this seemingly benign-looking man, and couldn’t help but wonder what training he had. Clay’s bright eyes met his, and for a moment, he saw a sly smile flash over the man’s face, and then Clay was gone.
“He scares the shit out of me,” said softly.
“Clay?” Tyler asked, bewildered.
Elliot winked at them. “Smart man. Stay out of sight, let us deal with this.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” asked.
Elliot rolled his eyes. “The idiots cut the landline and put up a signal blocker before they walked up to the house.”
“Which is how Clay knew something was up,” Tyler said.
“Well, and he has a good sense for danger,” Elliot added, almost proudly.
stepped down the stairs, peering over the railing. “This is just...normal for you?”
“My home being invaded? Absolutely not. Fighting assholes who want something that isn’t theirs? Oh, God, yes,” Elliot told him. “They want you? They’re going through us first, and that’s all there is to it.”
was struck dumb at the sentiment and had to hold onto the railing to keep his balance. He looked up at Tyler, who was staring at him fondly, placing a hand on his lower back.
“We’ve got you,” Tyler whispered.
opened his mouth to try and find the words to express just how touched he was by the sentiment. A crash from below jerked his head toward the window beside the front door. A metallic clink filled the silence as a cylinder rolled into the hallway.
“Down!” Elliot cried from somewhere out of sight.
twisted away, huddling down as he felt the impact of something exploding outward. A bright light filled the stairwell, followed by a cacophonous blast. Reeling, he tried to make sense of where he was and what was happening and stumbled over his feet. His back hit the railing, and with a cry he couldn’t hear, the wood gave way, and he tumbled backward.
Hitting the ground, he felt the air blasted out of his lungs, and he lay there, stunned, in the hallway. He could see movement on the stairwell he’d fallen from, and he reached out as though he might be able to help Tyler.
The front door gave with a sudden shuddering crash, jerking out of his stunned reverie. Figures stomped into the room, and with a yelp, shoved himself out of the hallway and into the living room. Two men turned the corner, coming straight for him as he struggled to get to his feet.
A bellow erupted in the room, and one of the men flew forward, hitting the ground face-first as Tyler tackled him from behind. ’s vision cleared enough for him to recognize the man Tyler had called Gruff Man and the other, his partner in crime, Mustache.
The sounds of what thought was gunfire erupted further into the house. Tyler didn’t seem to notice as he jerked his hand back. Mustache leaped forward, grabbing Tyler’s wrist and shoving his foot into his injured side. Tyler’s face crumpled as he twisted, trying to free himself from Mustache’s grip as Gruff Man recovered enough to twist around, elbowing Tyler in the same spot.
“Tyler!” cried out, using the coffee table to pull himself upright.
He wasn’t done, though, and while Tyler hit the ground in the hallway, he rolled to his feet, pushing away Mustache’s next blow. Eventually, both kidnappers got involved in the brawl, and couldn’t keep track of what was happening. He could make out cries and curses as the three men tussled, but he could see Tyler wasn’t winning.
He was outmatched, taking on two opponents at once. Before Tyler could recover from one fist, the other would drive into his chest or stomach. Tyler stumbled back against the wall, Mustache holding his throat as Gruff Man drove a fist into his stomach.
And then the gun appeared.
Mustache pulled it from his dark coat, and watched his finger draw along the slide, turning off the safety. The man’s lip curled as he brought the gun up, and felt his heart drop into his stomach.
Panicked and no longer thinking clearly, threw himself forward. He slammed into Mustache’s back, sending his gun arm wide and his face into the wall. Unbelievably, he heard something crack and felt the man fall to his knees.
“Motherfucker!” Mustache swore vehemently, reaching over his back. “You little shit!”
had no idea what he was doing and clung to Mustache’s back as fiercely as he could. Not once in his life had he ever been in a fight. Hell, he hadn’t even taken fencing lessons like his older sister. But he knew that so long as he had a tight grip on Mustache, he would never be able to draw his weapon on Tyler properly.
“Like hell!” Tyler yelled from somewhere behind him.
A gunshot rang through the house, and he felt fire race up his shoulder. cried out but tried to keep his grip on Mustache for as long as possible. The man was bucking, desperately trying to get off him. From somewhere behind them, he could hear the sounds of a fight as Tyler tried to deal with whatever Gruff Man had been doing.
With another grunt, Mustache backed up and slammed into the wall. His shoulder, inexplicably throbbing, screamed with agony, and he felt his arm release its grip. He dropped to the ground in a slump, staring up at the man, who then drove his fist into his face, making see stars and watching the world threatening to go dark.
He could see Tyler wasn’t doing much better with his fight. The double-team job on Tyler earlier had weakened him, and Gruff Man was getting the upper hand. It wasn’t helped by the fact that Mustache, now free of on his back, was grabbing his gun and turning on Tyler.
“No!” cried, trying to grab the man before he could pull the trigger.
And like the ghost had associated him with, Clay appeared. Moving faster and more fluidly than had ever seen, Clay stepped into view, grabbing Mustache’s gun arm and forcing it up. There was a flash of steel in Clay’s other hand, and watched as the man drove it into Mustache’s side, sliding upward smoothly.
Despite everything going on, found himself enraptured, almost horrified, by its precision and absolute cold intent. Mustache dropped his gun, mouth falling open in a silent scream. With a cold expression, Clay twisted the knife, shifting his grip. Mustache went taut, back bowing, and dropped to the ground with little more than a weak gurgle.
From behind him, Tyler gave a low snarl and shoved against Gruff Man. The man was taken off guard by the sudden attack, stumbling back as Tyler slammed into his chest. Back hitting the doorway of the dining room, Gruff Man gasped.
Eyes blazing, Tyler grabbed the man’s head and slammed it into the hard wood of the doorway. Gruff Man’s body went stiff, jerked, and then went still. Tyler released him, letting the man slump to the ground, staring down at him.
Clay bent down, taking his knife back with a wet sound. “It’s nice to know you two know the meaning of staying out of the fray.”
“Accident,” managed. “It was an accident. My fault.”
Tyler looked up, chest heaving. didn’t think the man had ever looked as beautiful as he did then. He was cut, bruised, and looked like hell, but damned if he didn’t look like the most wonderful thing in the world.
Tyler’s mouth fell open. “Jesus, he’s been hit!”
He had?
Tyler flew forward, dropping to his knees before . He reached up, touched ’s shoulder, and then stopped when gave a low hiss.
Oh, he had been hit.
“Oh God, , I’m so sorry,” Tyler muttered, unsure what to do.
Clay appeared behind him, holding out a clean towel. “Put this on the wound. Sounds like the sirens are getting closer. Ambulance should be with them.”
Tyler took it, pressing the towel against the wound. “Sorry.”
’s vision swam as the air was sucked out of his lungs. Agony radiated from where Tyler pressed against him, and for a moment, he wondered if he was going to die. Tyler was worried, though Clay wasn’t. Then again, considering what he’d just witnessed the man do, he imagined Clay wasn’t bothered by much.
“It’s okay,” whispered, trying to stay conscious.
“Clear!” Elliot called from somewhere in the house.
“Nathan was hit, but other than that, we’re clear,” Clay called back.
“Shit!” Elliot cursed.
laughed, unable to help himself. He thought that was a very good summary of events. They had just been attacked by men willing to invade a home to get him. He had been shot, Tyler had been beaten up, and he’d witnessed Clay kill a man as though he were wiping a stain away.
“That sounds about right,” murmured, feeling his vision fading.
Tyler was there. “No, , stay with me.”
“I’m sorry,” murmured, “for all this.”
He wished he could hear Tyler tell him he was wrong. But his words grew muddied and thick, and his mind couldn’t keep up. Try as he might, he felt himself slipping into the black of unconsciousness even as he took comfort in the sound of Tyler’s voice shouting for him to stay with them.